An Incredible Duo
by G. Sun
Summary: Our teen queen and stoic Keyblade warrior join together to defend themselves against the Heartless. Will the young teenagers be able protect their new "home" world from the Heartless? Or is the end of the world drawing nearer? Read after DROWNING and A FUTURE AND A PAST TO REMEMBER.
1. Chapter 1

**Miz and Risa story, they're gonna count as one.**

"Did you see what I just saw?" I ask Risa, backing away from the window fearfully. "Did you see that?" She nods silently, confirming my worst fear come true. Heartless have never been here before, why are they here now? Well we only saw one, that doesn't mean there's more. "Why was that there Risa?"

"I do not know Mizuki. They do not come individually either," she headed toward the door, with a weird-looking sword in her right hand. Where did that come from? "Like insects they come in swarms." There goes that idea. "Wait Risa, don't just walk outta here, we don't know what we're dealing with!" I frantically cry out. She comes to a stop as if I froze her in time but I know I didn't 'cause she's sighing.

"I do. I know exactly what I am dealing with," she says matter-of-factly. "We need to take them out one by one right now before things go from bad to worse." For thirty seconds, we only hear the lieutenant on TV being interviewed and more screams from outside. "…very important to me. Keeping Graham safe is all I want to do and that's why I followed in my grandfather's footsteps."

"Wasn't your grandfather's brother accused of creating an AHB and for viewers that aren't familiar with the term, it means artificial human being. There was a huge conspiracy about almost seven years ago, how do you feel about that?"

"It's been taken care of thanks to T.A.N.K. and I'd rather you not bring it up." Ignoring the television, I focus on the situation at hand. Risa's like a big sister to me, she's older than me by a couple of months-I'm not sure how she sees me but letting her go out there after not seeing her for such a long time bothers me. After I came from the future I suddenly felt so lonely and I just wanted Risa and Mia to come over, have some ramen noodles and have a sleepover or something like that. And for a while they would've felt like family. But Mia's still being held prisoner and Risa abruptly dropped in here only to disappear into the Heartless-infested streets. While I have this mental debate Risa already takes off, leaving me and the soggy noodles. I bend down to pick up the lukewarm cups and throw both of them in the trash.

That Heartless we saw wasn't like that mutated Heartless from the future, it was a normal Heartless which is a relief. The future that I saw isn't happening now, but what's going on here? Remember what Erick said about Heartless appearing in different worlds-it's because some jackass opened a black door that led the Heartless to this place. I found the door before when I was on that cruise ship but it had already been open when I reopened it-it was Dori that did it, that piece of trash. But he helped Risa to get back, and he did it so willingly too, why? I don't get that guy, he makes my skin crawl but when I'm near him I just want to run my fingers-

"No! No, don't think it. Stop thinking about him," I scold myself, slamming my fists on the bed. The door reopens and Risa's standing in the doorway silently. "What're you doing back here?"

"I heard you scream in the hallway."

"Uh that was-I was just being stupid. You haven't left yet?"

"No. I wanted...to talk to about why I was gone."

"Uh okay."

* * *

I was going to have my vendetta against the Heartless for imprisoning me and trapping me in a dark abyss. But that can wait, Mizuki indirectly kept the light of the Master Emerald shard glowing long enough for me to escape. She deserves to know what happened to me and what I saw in the darkness and more, she saved my life after all. But only what happened to me in the darkness, I cannot talk about everything that has happened up until now. "I was on Angel Island…"

"…and that is how I ended up here."

"Okay wait, why was your mom there and what's that have to do with the willow tree?" I sigh exasperatedly and Mizuki raises her hand. "But if you don't wanna tell me-!"

"Fine, one day with Erick…" So I tell her that story of me and Erick going to different worlds, I end up telling her about my mom's true identity and half-sister too, and before I realize it she is passed out on the bed. I fight the urge to fall asleep as I lean against the bedframe. How long has it been since I have had a peaceful sleep? I am so afraid of sleep-as long as I am not fighting them they will try to take me back into the Darkness. But I am so tired, so tired of fighting everything. Why do I fight so much in the first place? "Too much thinking," I mumble as I slump into a pillow and turn away from Mizuki. The television becomes a droning noise as I let myself drift off to sleep. Heartless will have to wait until tomorrow. As the dark of the night overcomes me and Mizuki, the words the Angel Island intruder haunt me, _Darkness is coming for you. _But it _did_, it came for me and I escaped, why do I still hear it? "Because Darkness is coming for you," the distorted voice comes from the unmasked Angel Island intruder, Clancy.

"Why Clancy? Why are you doing this?" I mentally ask him in the midst of my slumber.

"Because Darkness is coming for you," repeated Clancy.

"I faced the Darkness already-does this have to do with seeing the Heartless in Metropolis?"

"Darkness is coming for you. Fight for the Light." I wake up at the edge of the bed, slowly turning over to see Mizuki. She is out of bed, sitting quietly at the other edge of the bed. Adjusting my hood, I sit up and yawn. "Good morning."

"Sorry I fell asleep in the middle of your story," she says groggily. I did not know she was capable of being so calm and relaxed, I always see her high-strung and excited. "I had a pretty rough day yesterday, like you did and I was exhausted. But about last night, you shouldn't beat yourself up for going along with that strange guy, I would've done the same thing in a heartbeat."

* * *

I can't believe she's actually opening up to me and so early in the morning too. Ohmygod I just realized that we kinda had a sleepover, she didn't just get up and leave. Maybe she actually sees me as one of her pals now, after all she told me about her mother and crazy sister. "Guess I'm not the only one with a screwed up family," I chuckle, glancing at the infomercial on TV. I forgot to turn it on last night but I was just too tired, exhausted, and more tired synonyms. "Well get ready for mine because it is just as crazy…"

"Dori sounds a man infatuated with you," she says after hearing me out. "Oh and may I use your bathroom?"

"Sure. But I don't know, Dori's weird." With the water running from the bathroom faucet, she keeps talking. "You must like him on some level."

"No I don't, don't say stuff like that."

"I am only telling you my opinion based on what I am hearing." She comes out of the bathroom and examines her clothes with a generous amount of tears in the huge sleeves. It's hard to tell her facial expression but I would assume she's not happy about the tears in her clothes. "I had a dream last night about my friend Clancy."

"And?" I take the straightener from on top of the dresser and plug it in. Sulkily, she folds her arms and watches the odd cooking utensils infomercial on TV. "He spoke in a distorted voice. Darkness is coming for you-and he kept repeating it over and over until I asked him why it was coming. He said I had to 'fight for the light'," says Risa in a hushed tone. "But you said it came already," I remind her.

"Apparently I was wrong. There is still more fighting I have to do."

"Do you like Clancy? You know, as in more than a friend?"

"No, he is a little brother to me. That is why I will fight anything that is making him do these things," she says determinedly as she keeps her attention on the finishing infomercial.

"What is there to fight really-?" Answering my question is the alarm signal on TV that always interrupts my shows at past midnight-only this message doesn't say, _this is a test-_and a red banner streams across the bottom of the screen. _Red warning. _I pick up the remote and raise the volume of the already blaring TV.

"This is not a test, I repeat, this is not a test. Moments ago, the President has declared a state of emergency. We encourage every one of you to stay indoors until further notice," says the reporter sternly. "I repeat, this is not a test. Creatures of varying sizes have been reported murdering people on the streets of Metropolis. We have received footage of what's going on in Metropolis and I warn you, this is graphic."

"Aaaaaagh! These damn things are everywhere!" the cheap camera phone has pretty crystal clear audio but the visual quality is pretty bad. The man is running along a street, it's hard to tell with the blurred screen. But HD isn't needed when we see a pair of yellow eyes flying towards the cameraman. When the camera falls and the man recording it screams agonizingly, two purple-reddish wyverns fly over him, followed by more Heartless that look too weird to properly describe. "Mizuki!" Risa shoves me on the bed and the weird-shaped sword vaporizes into her hand. She swings at the floor and then chucks the blue sword into the floor.

"Risa, I gotta pay for that-" a pink heart hovers above where Risa put the sword and quickly disappears. "Oh shit there was a Heartless. Right?"

"We have to go," she pulls her sword from the carpet easily. She's just as strong as I constantly exaggerate. "Right now, I do not know where we can go but it has to out of here."

"But they said on the news-no, you're right. We've gotta head out right now-turn your head, I've gotta change." I snatch the first shirt and pants in my dresser and throw off my pajamas. No time for a shower and definitely no time for straightening my hair, the world is at stake. Quickly I put my hair in a ponytail to hide the frizzy part of it then pull up my pants. "Do you think that somebody really opened the black door like Erick said?"

"Yes," she agrees. "That means that this world is starting to fall towards Darkness. Are you done yet?"

"Almost! Ok, got the shirt on, let's move-oh wait."

"What now?"

I bend down from under the bed and grab the chunk of stone I found yesterday before Risa crashed into me. Something sharp pinches me and I grab the big chunk of rock as I spot a pair of Heartless eyes staring at me. "Crap, they're under the bed too." I pick up the broken stone and follow Risa out the door.

J.G.P.


	2. Chapter 2

Our street is quiet, too quiet for me to be at ease. But as we make our way down the block, the Heartless are skulking along, disappearing when they do not see anybody. Mizuki's panting is distracting, she has poor endurance. If she lived with my father, she would be almost as fast as lightning. "Quiet down, we cannot let them find us."

"That's a little hard considering I've got extra weight."

"Why are you carrying that? It will only slow you down."

"I don't know, it didn't feel right leaving it in my Heartless-infested room. I think we should look go looking for Knuckles right about now."

"Why?" I ask sharply. "He-will not be of any help. Besides, I do not want to see him." How can I look him in the eye again after how I left him so readily? He does not deserve to see me and I do not deserve to see him again. Hopefully he will think I made it back home and then forget about me. He has every right to hate me-but I am not ready to see him and I am not sure when I will ever be ready. Recoiling my head back to where I cannot be seen, I sigh.

"But he was freaking out, trust me he was really worried about you," insists Mizuki stubbornly. "You have at least tell him you're alright...and he is pretty strong. He could help us out!"

"No," I blatantly refuse. "I am not ready to face him yet, especially after what I have done." It feels odd telling other people what I am thinking. I used to do with Clancy but since we got separated I stopped speaking my thoughts aloud. Maybe if I get the chance to talk to Clancy again then I can get back those days. "Well what do we do?" asks Mizuki worriedly, holding the chunk of stone to her chest. Shrieks and howling respond to Mizuki's question from right behind us. When I stick my head out, a Heartless leaps at me, luckily I am able to avoid it before it gets me in the face. I bring out the Keyblade and try killing it as it lands, but it disappears before I hit it. "Shit they're behind you Risa." As Mizuki shouted, there are seven of them approaching us that look different from the small ones I normally see. Before I can strike them, I see Mizuki's hands move like snakes, tapping each and every one gently but fiercely enough for them to turn into hearts. "So like I said, what do we do? They're everywhere!"

"Come on, pick up that rock."

We run straight down, pushing past the people running in fear while screaming. At the end of the next street, a crowd of Heartless, grounded and flying, march towards us. I glance at Mizuki, instantly noticing her eyes are white and her pupils are gone. "So I guess the plan is to kill them all?"

"Yes." Putting the rock down, she charges at the crowd first, making the front line disappear in a flurry of hand movements. They will keep coming but we have to be the ones stopping them at the time of being until I can think of a definite plan. These monsters are endless and relentless and I doubt they will go away for good after we push through this wave. Brandishing the blade, I lunge at the red-clawed Heartless and then jump on top of one to reach the flying ones. Falling right in the middle, I swipe at the black creatures, some releasing hearts and some just exploding into a Dark mist. Thank goodness these monsters are not organized in their attacks, they simply refer to act on their own. "Mizuki, I need a boost."

"'K," she pushes farther into the crowd thanks to her swift hand strikes that are blurs to me and before I realize it, her hand is beneath my foot. "Ready?"

"Ready." With a loud grunt, she boosts me up in the air and I hold the periwinkle Keyblade upside down so when I land, it is chucked in the ground. When I make it down on top of a big, thick Heartless, Light shockwaves kill more of the Heartless to my surprise. This blade has a lot of tricks that I still do not know? What a weapon. "I need some help here!" Mizuki rapidly taps another big-bellied one but the taps do not cause it to vaporize. It swipes at her and hits Mizuki directly in the face and she is pushed to the ground. Doing a three-step sword combo on the Heartless' back causes it to disappear for good and I extend my hand to pick Mizuki up. She takes my hand and I bring her up. "Thanks, but there's a lot more that came from."

"The Heartless are relentless and will keep coming. A tougher wave will be on its way," I warn her, facing the next wave to the right of us. I charge at them, swinging and swinging until I get a good twenty of them. One of them holding a tiny blade strikes me but I manage to block in time. Am I already getting tired? I cannot afford to be tired right now, I have to keep fighting as Clancy said. Perhaps he said that to inspire me to keep going, not as a ill-content warning of things to come. "Where is that rock?"

"In my pants," shouts Mizuki, giving me a glimpse of the rock being hugged by her pants. Now I am starting to be concerned over that rock she found, it feels important. I push the miniature blade off my Keyblade and slash the Heartless to its death. I skip upward to smack down one that looks like a bat and send it crashing to the sidewalk pavement. Blocking out everyone's screaming and shouting, I concentrate on the Heartless around me. There is no way that I am falling back into the Darkness with these creatures.

* * *

I block the Heartless' claw with my arms and then kick it in its knee. The Heartless falls face-flat and fades away, I've become so used to the pattern. I pant and gasp for air, my arms and legs sore from running and hitting repeatedly. Plus this rock is starting to dig into my side, this was a bad idea from the start. We can't stop the Heartless. Looking towards Risa, I see her hacking down five more of them and then leaning over to catch a breath. So I'm not the only one that's tired from doing all of this. Somehow, I've got to put a stop to this. "Hey Risa, think we can get outta here?"

"There is still so many," she quickly jumps over an attacking Heartless and lands on top of another, inserting the blue blade in its head. "If we can get out of this wave then maybe."

"I've got an idea." Draining out the Heartless and the sounds of Risa killing them all, I focus on holding time in the palm of my hand. I feel my fist clench and shake a little and when I open my eyes, everything's frozen, even their violet and black energy systems. Come on Mizuki, you got this-while stepping deeper into the swarm, I strike each one of those Heartless in their white nodes, striking faster than I ever have before and at a much wider range. Killing these damn things are gonna make me so much stronger, I just know it. I'll be ready for the what the future holds-Don, mutated Heartless, almost anything. A bead of sweat rolls down my face as I drop on all fours-time unfreezes-my eyes revert back to normal-and a flock of crimson hearts surrounds us. I hear Risa rush to my side, helping me get up as I feel warm water tricking down my nose. The few normal civilians gasp and mutter in awe as they stop fleeing for a bit.

"You are bleeding, we do need to get out of here. And I know where."

' ' '

By the time we reach the beach below Angel Island, the blood stopped flowing. Since when do I get nosebleeds anyway? Probably 'cuz I pushed myself-I never froze time and extended my range of attack like that. "What the hell happened?" I wonder as I blink twice to make sure I'm seeing things right. Angel Island is chilling in the sea like a pool floatey but everything is still in place. Seawater is crashing against the forest end of the island and the former floating island lacks the beauty and awe it had when it was in the sky. "Shouldn't that be floating?"

"Yes but what is going on? What did the Heartless do?" says Risa anxiously. "I cannot teleport there."

"Knuckles isn't on there either. What-everything's so messed up thanks to these Heartless," I stroke my hair nervously with my nails. Risa suddenly turns and stares at my ass as if it started talking. Feeling self-conscious I ask, "what?"

"That rock at your hip, can I see it?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure what that has to do with anything." I pull my waistline so that I get the rock out and hand it to her. Finally I've got that thing off me, it's been slowing me down so much. Risa scrutinizes is, caressing it and turning it at different angles. "What?"

"This-this is the Master Emerald," she states while tossing it in the air. It can't be, I remember it being a big huge Chaos Emerald before. "Wha? No way Risa, it was bigger the last time I saw it," I argue, throwing my arm up exasperatedly. "Did the Heartless tire you out that much?"

"Something happened to it," Risa presses on obstinately, "I know for a fact that this is the Master Emerald but it broke, shattered. That is-what I saw in the dark abyss. The piece-the pieces of the Master Emerald. This and Metropolis being infested with Heartless go hand in hand. I need to get to the bottom of this, _we_ need to get to the bottom of this."

"Damn right we will," I smirk. "What's your plan?"

"I think-we need to find out where they are coming from. I am going to find a portal and go to a world where I think these things are leaking from-"

"How?"

"With this," Risa lifts the Master Emerald fragment. "Also, I already have some connection with Dark worlds. I can handle this myself, I cannot jeopardize you too, I am not sure how you can handle the Darkness."

"But you'll need help," I protest before she can convince me to run and hide. I'm tired of running away, I've been running away all my life.

"I will not accept it. You, on the other hand, need to find out how the Heartless are getting in here. Talk to Erick, I am sure he's the one who has the best idea of what is going on here. Will you help me Mizuki?" I gulp, scratching my hair fervently.

"I'll-I'll do it," I reluctantly agree. Risa nods approvingly and then puts her hand on my shoulder but before she says anything I say, "I'll be fine, don't worry about me, just go. We're not gonna let this place end up like my world or yours and even Mia's."

"Right. Good luck, be alive when I am back."

"You too." She runs off the beach, leaving my range of sight. I notice it's past five o clock already and the sun isn't up. When I look up, a black, violet covering swallowed up the peaceful darkness of the early night and replaced it with a sinister sky that makes my knees tremble. Time is not on our side, it's on the bad guy's side.

J.G.P.

**And we return to Mia! This story had a little bit of Risa action mixed with Mizuki sass and I hope you liked it!**


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